Man, I feel like a Woman
by Regina93
Summary: Ever since the two had met seven years ago, Charles had been infatuated, but Erik had insisted that he was only interested in females. But, what happens when Charles becomes one?


The line was infuriatingly long, and Charles found himself mentally restraining Erik from shoving his way to the front to demand entrance to the club. _"Come now, Erik, we mustn't scare her away before we get the chance to talk to her."_

Erik's only response was a growl of irritation. Charles rested his hand on his friend's arm and smiled at him. "We are almost to the front now. You can wait another few minutes."

"We'll see."

Charles allowed the argument to drop, hoping that Erik was able to wait a little while longer to get into the club. The new mutant they were searching for had proven elusive so far, and Charles wanted every possible advantage when he finally found her. He knew that the only reason Erik was joining him on this search was for the abundance of available alcohol, because the new mutant seemed to spend every night in bars or clubs. Using his power, Charles gently probed the minds of everyone in the building and was thrilled to find his target's mind still completely sober; it was always easier for Charles when dealing with sober mutants. A drunken mutant may be more liable to misunderstand his proposition and think Charles was there to kidnap him or her, which has lead to public displays of power in the past.

"If she disappears again tonight, can we please just go home?" Erik asked ten minutes later. "We've been following her for two months. If she needed help hiding her power, I'm sure we would have noticed by now."

Charles sighed, "I suppose we can go home if that's what you want. I would _prefer_ we continue to try and help her, but if I must give up, I can."

Erik's eyes gleamed in the moonlight. "Don't you try those tricks on me, Charles. I won't fall for those big sad eyes of yours."

"You used to," Charles whispered with a smirk. Erik stiffened and looked around, obviously checking to see if anybody had heard Charles' comment. He took a half step away from his friend, and Charles stared at the pavement to hide the hurt he felt. His mind instantly conjured up one of many times when Erik had had too much to drink and knowingly sought Charles out for company. Although he knew it was sad and behavior suited to much younger people, Charles had allowed himself to be used by the metal bender, hoping that each time would be different than the last. Then, finally, nearly a year previously, Erik had admitted to his attraction to Charles while sober.

_Charles sat down at the table with a cup of coffee and the daily newspaper. The smell of bacon was slowly permeating the kitchen as the microwave counted down the minutes until it would be finished. Erik walked into the room and poured himself coffee, taking the seat beside Charles. Without thinking about it, Charles found his leg pressed against Erik's, simply loving the warmth Erik always gave off. Just as he was finishing his article, Charles noticed a warm hand slide onto his knee. The newspaper began to quiver and he looked up at Erik, astonished._

"_Good morning, Charles," Erik said, attempting a casual tone._

"_Good morning." Charles took a sip of coffee, curiously slipping his hand on top of Erik's and curling his fingers over the other man's palm._

_Erik tensed, but only for a second before he forced himself to relax._

_The microwave beeped, making both of them jump. Charles, blushing slightly, stood and pulled the bacon out. "Do you want some?" He asked without turning to face the table._

"_Sure," said a voice in Charles' ear, and Erik's arm went around Charles to snag a piece of bacon. Turning slowly, Charles found himself looking up at his friend's bright, crystal blue eyes. Erik licked the crumbs off his lips and offered the piece to Charles._

_Tentatively, Charles opened his mouth and took a bite, his lips just barely touching Erik's fingertips. Erik dropped the bacon and grabbed Charles by the neck, crushing their lips together. There was nothing gentle about his touch, but Charles felt as though he were floating in the clouds. Erik pulled back and Charles licked a drop of blood off of his lips. "Erik, what-"_

"_Hush." Erik growled, leaning forward and kissing him again. This time he was gentle, something that Charles had never witnessed in the metal bender. "I don't know what to do anymore, Charles. I don't like guys. Not like this." _

_Fear fluttered in Charles' chest. Was this just a test to see if Erik could like someone like this? Was Charles setting himself up to be crushed again? "Erik, you might have noticed, I'm a guy." Charles fought to keep his voice casual, but didn't quite manage it._

"_Let me finish." Erik growled, his fingers bruising Charles shoulders. "I only like girls. I don't find males attractive." His whole body slumped forward until his forehead was pressed against Charles'. "I don't like men," he repeated, "only you."_

"ID?" The voice made Charles jump back to reality and shake his head to clear it of memories. A large man with a wide frown was holding his hand out to Charles, who handed over his driver's license. With a grunt, the man returned the license and Charles followed Erik into the club.

"I'll get us drinks." Erik disappeared before Charles had the chance to say a word. Trying not to let his dismay show on his face as he started scanning the minds around him until he found the one he was looking for. He found a seat at the table closest to the girl and tried to pinpoint her in the throng of bodies on the dance floor.

"My girl wants to sit here." A burly guy was standing with his arms crossed glaring at Charles.

"Stephen, really, I don't mind." A girl fluttered at the big man. "We can sit somewhere else."

Stephen took another step forward. "Move." He growled at Charles.

"Go find another seat." Charles told him, turning away from the couple to look at the dance floor again.

"I said _move!_" Hands grabbed Charles and threw him to the floor. His head slammed the wood with a sickening crack and red streaked his vision.

There was a smash of breaking glass and a crash of splintering wood. Girls were screaming and Charles heard the trampling of feet thundering away from him. Charles blinked his vision clear and saw Erik beating Stephen with a chair, which splintered and sliced the bigger man's face. "Don't you _ever_ lay your hands on him again," Erik snarled, kicking Stephen in the ribs before turning to kneel beside Charles. His hands were gentle as he pulled Charles onto his lap and probed the point where Charles' head had collided with the floor. His fingers came back bloody. "I'll kill him."

"Erik, no." Charles reached out and grabbed the metal bender's shirt to keep him still. The movement made his head swim.

"He needs the hospital." Someone said, her face slipping into Charles' vision. "My car is outside if you need a ride."

Charles clenched Erik's shirt so hard, his nails scraped skin. "It's you." He could barely believe his luck; the mutant he had been searching for was offering him help. "I found you."

"He's going into shock. You need to hurry."

"Erik, it's her. We found her, Erik. She's here."

"A ride would be appreciated." Erik said, slipping his arms under Charles knees and shoulders to lift him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Stephen's girlfriend was standing in front of them. "You're going to jail for what you did to my Stephen!"

"Get out of my way, girl, unless you want to end up like your pathetic boyfriend." Erik growled. The girl paled and allowed them to pass.

"You better be planning on paying his hospital bill." The mutant informed Erik. "Otherwise I won't help you."

"They're headed for the hospital too, right? I'll find them there. Now, we need to go."

Charles moaned as he was jostled through the crowd and buried his head in Erik's chest to block out the piercing lights. The steady rhythm of Erik's strong heartbeat eased Charles' mind somewhat, allowing some of the pain to recede.

The mutant girl was able to get Charles a room immediately once they entered the hospital, but no amount of persuasion would let them into Charles' room until they found out what was wrong with him. Feeling a sense of panic rising in his chest, Charles threw his power out to find Erik's mind and sank into its beautiful familiarity.

"…sweet of you to protect your boyfriend like that." The mutant girl was saying when Charles appeared in Erik's mind.

"We're just friends." Erik replied instantly, his voice tense.

"Relax. I don't judge. Everyone should be free to love whoever they want."

"He's not my boyfriend. I'm not _gay_." Erik's mouth spat out the word like a curse. One of the metal chairs beside him bent angrily inward.

The girl mutant's eyes widened as she looked at the chair. Charles sensed panic erupt in Erik's mind as he worried that he had scared Charles' new mutant, but the girl suddenly beamed at him. "I knew I wasn't alone! I _knew_ it!" She leaped out of her chair and hugged Erik, before jumping back apologetically. "S-sorry! I just… I thought I was the only one."

Relief seeped through Erik as he relaxed again. "What's your power, Quinn?"

"I- well, it's sort of… see, I have the ability to, um," The girl was shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. "I can change people's gender."

Shocked silence followed her words, as both Charles and Erik tried to absorb this odd information. Before his thoughts could seep into Erik's mind, Charles retreated back to his own skull and forcefully built up the walls that would keep his power from flowing out. Wondering if he were insane for feeling hopeful, Charles forced his brain to shut down and go to sleep before he thought any more about his crazy idea.

_Charles dreamed he was wrapped in Erik's arms. They were sitting in the middle of a park, but somehow Erik wasn't worried about the people passing by them. He tilted Charles' head back and kissed him before nuzzling his face into Charles' neck. "God, I love you." He whispered, his breath tickling Charles' warm skin. Charles sighed and leaned further back into Erik, realizing that a soft fabric was pooling around his legs. Looking down, he saw a dress clinging to his very female body. He jumped to his feet and felt a jiggle on his chest. "Don't be upset. We can finally be together now." Erik said, his hand reaching for Charles again._

"Charles?" A warm hand was gently touching Charles' shoulder. "Charles, please wake up."

"Erik?"

"_Charles._" The relief in Erik's voice scared Charles as much as it thrilled him.

"How long was I asleep?"

"You've been in a coma for three weeks."

Charles' eyes shot open. "No. That's not possible." He reached for Erik's hand, and noticed that he didn't sound quite like himself.

Erik twined their fingers together and placed their hands on Charles' stomach. "The mutant girl came to visit you while you were asleep. She said you spoke to her mind."

"Did I?" Charles asked, trying to shake off the growing feeling that he was _different _than he should be.

"She said that you asked her to use her power…" Erik's voice trailed away as Charles bolted upright, feeling something jiggle on his chest. "Don't overexert yourself!" Erik's hands pushed Charles back to the bed.

"I-I'm a woman!" Charles exclaimed, fighting against Erik's hands. "Where's the girl? You have to bring her back!"

"Please, calm down. You can't overexert yourself."

Hearing the desperation in Erik's voice, Charles took a deep breath. "Please, Erik, she has to change me back."

"I told her that you wouldn't want this." Erik said, his fingers absentmindedly trailing down hair that fell to Charles' shoulders. "She insisted that you spoke to her in her dreams. Said that you demanded she return and fix your 'problem' so you could be happy."

"I was happy." Charles protested weakly.

"She told me that you wanted to free your lover of the stress you caused." Erik's eyes clouded over and he dropped his head into his hands.

Charles wanted to reach out and hold Erik, but he was trying to understand the words Erik had said. Realizing why Erik was determined to make Charles understand what happened, he asked, "She's gone, isn't she?"

Erik lifted his head and stared at Charles. "She changed you and ran for it. She told me that someone was chasing her who wanted her dead. When I told her that we could protect her, she laughed at me and left."

A strange sense of calmness flooded Charles. "Did I at least tell her what it was I wanted to be called now?"

Erik's eyes widened as he shook his head. A sly smile tried to curl over Erik's lips. "I rather thought I could call you Charlessa."

"I like the sound of that." They stared at each other for a moment. "Remember that day in the kitchen when you told me that you didn't like men?"

Erik nodded. "I still don't."

"You told me that you didn't ever like men the way that you liked me." After a pause, Charlessa added, "Have your feelings toward me changed?"

A triumphant kind of gleam shone in Erik's eyes as he brought their lips crashing together. They kissed hungrily, as though they had been starved and this was their first meal in weeks. Erik brought Charlessa home, after the telepath fiddled around in the doctor's minds until they forgot that anything strange had happened in the last few days.

Explaining what had happened to their other mutants was complicated, but Charlessa managed to convince them that she was the same Charles, just in a female body. Raven was the first to understand, being able to change her own form to any gender, she easily accepted the switch from Charles to Charlessa. Hank promised to help Charlessa track down the mutant girl, full of curiosity about the power. Alex, Sean, Darwin, and Angel took several days to become accustomed to the change, but did their best to hide their confusion.

Raven found Charlessa sitting alone one evening and sat beside her. "Have you and Erik tried out your new body yet?" Raven asked, never one for subtlety when it came to her friend's love life. She had given up on winning Charles' affection after the third boyfriend he had brought home, grudgingly accepting that she would never be Charles' type. Raven seemed even less inclined to tiptoe around the subject now that Charlessa was just another girl.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Charlessa said, trying to hide the blush creeping along her face.

"Yes you do. Everyone knows that you are in love with him just as much as we know how uncomfortable Erik was with having a relationship with another man. So, have you guys tried out your new body yet? I'm sure _you_ are dying to know what it feels like to _really_ know what it's like to be a woman." Raven threw a wink at Charlessa that caused the telepath to drop her head to look at her knees to hide the blush.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. We have done nothing like that." Catching Raven's exasperated look, Charlessa added "Yet. We have done nothing like that yet. Erik is waiting for me to tell him it's okay, but I'm still trying to get used to this. And Hank and I think we are close to finding Quinn anyway."

"Are you really going to ask her to change you back? You and Erik can have a real relationship now. And it's not as if you were ever all that manly to start out. Honestly, I think you're more you now that you're a girl than you ever were when you were a boy." Without waiting for Charlessa to finish understanding her last statement, Raven stood up and walked away.

Charlessa stayed where she was for another few minutes before she got up and started wandering the halls of the manor. Somehow, she wound up outside Erik's door. Her heart pounding somewhere in her throat and a queasy feeling twisting her stomach, Charlessa reached out and knocked twice.

Erik opened the door wearing only a pair of sweatpants that were hanging sinfully low on his hips, causing a familiar kick of adrenaline in Charlessa. They stood there for a moment before Erik smiled and pulled the telepath into his room, the door closing and locking behind them. "Finally." He whispered in her ear, his breath sending shivers of anticipation down Charlessa's spine.

The next few weeks were the happiest Charlessa could remember. She moved her things into Erik's room, after Raven and Angel dragged her out shopping for girly things and gave her lessons on what each item was for. They found seven more mutants that wanted to be taught at Charlessa's growing school. Erik almost never left her side, and Charlessa came to realize that Raven had been right; being a woman slowly became more comfortable than being a man had ever been.

Quinn was finally found, six months after her disappearance, and the mutant hunting her was dealt with swiftly. Shaw had never had a chance against Charlessa and Erik's ever-growing team. Shaw's followers seemed to come out of trances once their leader was dead and they begged for forgiveness, which Charlessa granted, along with rooms in the manor. Quinn was relieved to hear of Shaw's death, and agreed to come to live in the manor with them all.

"You must never use your power without permission again, Quinn." Charlessa warned as she showed Quinn to her room.

"You forget that you haunted my mind until I agreed to go to the hospital to change you. And you don't seem to be complaining." Quinn's eyes glanced down at Charlessa's growing stomach. "Have you chosen names yet?"

Trying not to look too excited, Charlessa told Quinn what names Erik had agreed on. "I haven't told Erik yet, but I already know it's going to be a girl." Charlessa confided. "I went to the doctor without him because I didn't want to risk him bending any equipment when he found out. My power isn't entirely reliable because of my hormones, and I couldn't guarantee that I would be able to make the doctors forget."

Quinn smiled at her. "I think I like the name Jean the best."

Erik accidentally destroyed the bed in his excitement at finding out that they were going to have a baby girl, but Charlessa couldn't have cared less. Nothing could have felt more right to her than laying on the floor with her wonderful husband debating names for their new baby.

Four months later, Erik was standing in the hospital room holding their baby girl. She wrapped her little hand around his finger and stared up at him with big eyes. "Little Jean." Erik crooned. "Beautiful little Jean. You're going to be the most powerful of them all." He kissed her little forehead and handed her to her mother.

"She's perfect." Charlessa sighed, exhausted. "Absolutely perfect." She reached out with her mind to touch Jean and found power oozing out of every crevice in her little baby's mind. With a smile, Charlessa snuggled her baby close, knowing that Erik was right.


End file.
